Marilyn Hempel
The Population Press has lost a great friend and guiding light. In February, Donella Meadows suddenly died at age 59. Those of you who have read the Pop!ulation Press for years will remember her insightful articles about sustainable communities. Donella (Dana to her many friends) was one of this world’s truly visionary thinkers—one which we relied upon to guide us toward that elusive, yet absolutely necessary, concept of a sustainable future. It never occurred to me that we would have to live and work without her. Many of the Coalition’s guiding concepts were discovered in Dana’s writings. On making difficult choices: First, do no harm. On growth and progress: The planet Earth does not grow; it may develop, diversify, evolve and change, but it does not grow. And on building community: "Learning the skills of community is essential to learning to live sustainably and without excess consumption, because they're the same skills. They're the skills of getting past your own little ego, little ‘needs,’ small self-definitions based on accoutrements derived from outside yourself. Community is the practice of identifying with and serving something larger than yourself—other people, nature, and the Whole of people embedded in nature."
It is appropriate that her last Earth Day editorial was written from the point of view of the Earth. We dedicate this Earth Day Edition 2001 to Donella Meadows and to all the glorious beauty of life on Earth that she loved so well.
Letters from Friends
"The thought of the world without one of the brightest, most thoughtful, insightful, caring souls who truly lived the values she espoused is almost unbearable. Dana was a visionary, the first of the great systems thinkers that have helped us all see the world in a holistic and interdependent way, a great teacher, an outstanding mentor to thousands of people and a gifted communicator." —Anthony Cortese, President, Second Nature.
"If you didn't know her, know that she worked with every shred of her life for a sustainable future for this Earth. You can go to www.sustainer.org to get a small taste of her greatness." —Vicki Robin, President, New Road Map Foundation
Dr Donella Meadows was the lead author of The Limits of Growth: A Report on the Predicament of Mankind, published in 1972. The book delivered a simple message: either civilization or growth must end. The book stated that continued population and industrial growth would exhaust the world's minerals and steep the planet in lethal levels of pollution. They urged "deliberate checks" on economic and population growth.
In 1992, she and her co-authors, Jorgen Randers and Dr Dennis L Meadows, published an update, Beyond the Limits: Confronting Global Collapse, Envisioning a Sustainable Future. Based partly on new computer simulations, the book warned that unless human
activity changed, humans would "overshoot" the carrying capacity of the planet in decades.
In 1997, Professor Meadows founded the Sustainability Institute, which she described as a "think-do tank." The Institute combines cutting edge research in global systems with practical demonstrations of sustainable living, including the development of an ecological village and organic farm in Hartland Four Corners, Vermont.
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